#WithoutMom: This ad crushed us ahead of Mother’s Day – now is the time to fight for moms

The Rockefeller Foundation released a video ahead of Mother’s Day that got us right in the feels. But it also shed light on the fact that we lose so many moms, every day, simply because we don't have the interventions in place to prevent the very many things that can go wrong in pregnancy and childbirth.

"I'm an example of what it looks like when support and love is poured into someone." – Regina King thanking her mom upon accepting the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress (Youtube)

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The Rockefeller Foundation released a video ahead of Mother’s Day that really tugged at our heart strings. In a compilation of video clips of famous celebrities including Regina King, Maya Angelou and Trevor Noah, paying homage to and saying they wouldn’t be where they are without their moms, the Foundation hopes to make the point that, “The world loses when we lose mothers.”

A touching video ahead of Mother's Day, no doubt, but with a very important message we didn’t quite expect or even think to consider.

The video sheds a light on maternal mortality in the US, which, in South Africa, also continues to be a problem. According to a study in the South African Medical Journal published in 2018, overall, 60% of all maternal deaths are thought to have been potentially preventable, saying a lot about the state of the health care system and the poor quality of care.

They list interventions to reduce the MMR rate in South Africa by calling on government to improve clinical protocols that should’ve already been in place as well as antenatal care, while better training all healthcare professionals to ensure these interventions are rolled out.

The above graph shows a steady decline in potentially preventable maternal deaths from the 2008-2010 period, which also happens to be around the same time an improved HIV testing and ARV treatment strategy became available.

ARVs, or rather, the proper administration of ARVs by the healthcare department, indicates just how much potential we still have to lower the MMR. Knowing full well what it takes to reduce it, as we draw closer to Mother’s Day and just after the 2019 elections, we hope the MMR becomes a priority for the powers that be to ensure that no child has to grow up #WithoutMom.

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Is your mom no longer with you? How will you be honouring her this Mother's Day? Share your story with us and we may publish it. Do let us know if you'd like to remain anonymous.